06-August-2021
Dear families
Lockdown 6.0 is here and the silver lining to this is ‘we KNOW what to do.’ After the Flexible and Remote Learning times we have been through together, our students returned to school energised and eager to continue their learning – and we’re aiming for the same to happen again this time.
Most of this information has been sent during previous Lockdowns and this is a refresher of the structures, guidelines and details that will be most important for the next 5 days of school. We are wanting to keep as much certainty and continuity with the learning as possible and prioritise students’ wellbeing.
Only 9 days ago we were in a remote and Flexible Learning environment and the familiarity and regularity of these disruptions, us unwanted as they are, should stand us in good stead for this quick and unexpected lockdown.
The restrictions announced by the Premier yesterday will be in place from 7.59pm Thursday 5 August for a 7-day period.
Following advice from the Victorian Chief Health Officer, all Victorian schools have moved to a period of Remote and Flexible Learning (RFL) from Friday 6 August to Thursday 12 August inclusive.
This is a very challenging time for our communities. It is understandable that many are feeling anxious and our role in supporting our students, staff, parents/carers and communities has never been more important.
We have taken note of the large numbers of students who engaged with the structures we had in place during Lockdown 5.0 and will keep as much of this the same as possible. There may be some minor tweaks to our program as we strive to again implement quality remote learning programs that reach as many students and families as possible.
Our School’s Remote and Flexible Learning programs will again be run through SEESAW and Webex. Each Year level will have learning tasks posted for students to begin completing early each morning. It was great to see so many students online this morning, keen and eager to engage with the tasks set.
A brief overview of what the next few days looks like for your child is included in an attachment. Staff will be available at different times throughout the day to offer support and advice for students to help them attempt the learning tasks and provide feedback on their completed work. These varying times aim to take into account the needs of our families – noting that flexibility for all of us needs to be prioritised.
Much of what is included below will be familiar to our parents and students and is included here as a refresher.
1. Communications
Compass- We will communicate with families via Compass as per usual for updates and communication.
SEESAW- Classroom teachers will also post resources and assignments on their Class SEESAW. Staff will provide,
among other things- learning tasks, recorded videos of lessons, personalised feedback for students.
Video Conferencing/feedback: This will again be provide through the DET backed WEBEX meetings platform.
We will again alter the way we operate and manage some Office operations. If you call, and the phones are unattended, you will be asked to leave a message. This message is then automatically sent to the School email, which will monitored by all of our office staff (during office hours). Someone will then either call you back, or forward your message on to the appropriate person. Communication through the school’s email editrhvaleps@education.vic.gov.au continues to be available
2. Teaching and Learning Model
Learning tasks will be posted and teaching and Educational support staff will be available at different times throughout the day to offer support and advice for students. These varying times aim to take into account the needs of our families- noting that flexibility for us all needs to be prioritised.
All resources for student learning will be available through SEESAW and WEBEX.
Teachers may deliver lessons via video recordings on SEESAW and WEBEX.
The below table is an example of how your child’s day might look. The times of WEBEX meetings will be staggered as much as possible.
| WebEx | 9.00am – Morning meeting on Webex meetings (hosted in a teacher’s Personal Meeting Room) This meeting will outline – – Activities for the day – A wellbeing check in to gauge how students are feeling and a tip to help proactively manage their wellbeing during Remote Learning – This first session will also include direct and explicit phonics instruction – A follow up webex metring approximately 90 minutes after the initial meeting will include instructional teaching/teacher feedback/work clarification This session will run for approximately 60 minutes |
| SeeSaw | .You can see the Maths task from above on SeeSaw. More ‘self-directed’ tasks relating to English, PBIL, or Wellbeing. These will be ‘liked’ or ‘commented’ on later in the day.As we did last time, please sign in with your Home Learning code following the steps below: 1. Go to https://web.seesaw.me on a computer. 2. Or install the Seesaw Class iOS or Android app. 3. Tap “I’m a Student”. 4. Scan or type in your Home Learning code 5. Post to your journal, respond to activities, and view class announcements. 6. Remember, this code is like a password. Keep it safe! |
Students will still be participating in Art, Phys Ed and French lessons. There will be one lesson per subject, per week, and the specialist lessons will be spread across 4 days.
Absences
To support the priorities of wellbeing, engagement and attendance, DET has asked that we continue to keep accurate attendance records during RFL. Please let us know if your child may be absent from online learning next week and if there are ways that we can assist to engage your child and support their wellbeing.
3. All students will be learning from home, except for students in the following categories
- Children where both parents and or carers are considered authorised workers who cannot work from home,
work for an essential provider and where no other supervision arrangements can be made:- Where there are two parents/carers, both must be essential workers, working outside the home in order for
their children to be eligible for on-site provision. - For single parents/ carers, the essential worker must be working outside the home in order for their children
to be eligible for on-site provision.
- Where there are two parents/carers, both must be essential workers, working outside the home in order for
- Children experiencing vulnerability, including:
- in out-of-home care
- deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family violence service, and assessed as requiring education and care outside the family home
- identified by a school or early childhood service as vulnerable, (including via referral from a government agency, or funded family or family violence service, homeless or youth justice service or mental health or other health service)
- Where a parent/carer indicates that a student with a disability is vulnerable because they cannot learn from home, and/or informs the school the student is vulnerable due to family stress, the school must provide on-site supervision for that student. This may apply to students enrolled in specialist schools and students with a disability enrolled in mainstream schools.
4. Home provision
- The parent or carer is responsible for students’ general safety at home or elsewhere.
- Students and parents/families should be given clear information about how and when they will receive learning materials and feedback.
- Schools will create and communicate a schedule or calendar that shows what is expected of students in relation to the completion of learning tasks.
5. Home and on-site learning programs
- The learning program delivered on-site will be the same as the learning program delivered to students undertaking remote learning.
- The following are the daily minimum guidelines schools are expected to meet for students:
- For students in Foundation to Year 2, schools will provide learning programs that include the following:
- literacy activities that take a total of about 45-60 minutes
- numeracy activities of about 30-45 minutes
- additional learning areas, play-based learning and physical activity of about 30-45 minutes.
- For students in Years 3 to 6 and Years 7 to 10, schools will provide learning programs allocated as follows:
- Literacy: 45-60 minutes
- Numeracy: 30-45 minutes
- Physical activities: 30 minutes
- Additional curriculum areas: 90 minutes
- For students in Foundation to Year 2, schools will provide learning programs that include the following:
We will continue to deliver the Tutor Learning Initiative in a slightly modified format using remote learning, as appropriate, for individual students.
6. Tips For Parents and Carers
- Please note that these are arrangements for remote/online learning.
- Please read through the student protocols with your child, to ensure they understand the online learning and video conferencing (TBC) expectations.
- Please ensure that the children in your care are using their device in a suitable “public” area of your home. Teachers will not engage with your child if they are located in an unsupervised private space (e.g. a bedroom) in line with Child Safe Standards.
- Please help your child to set up a home environment that is conducive to learning- such as accessing books and other learning resources, engaging your child in activities such as gardening or physical exercise- to help balance the academic/social learning aspects
- Please understand that there are challenges to online learning and these things should be taken into consideration:
- The individual student’s ability to learn and work independently
- The greater need for self-motivation
- The requirement for students to ignore distractions, including from older/younger siblings and home environment
- Contact with peers during home learning can also distract from productive activity; conversation is not always collaboration.
- The amount of parent and teacher support may be limited.
- Contact with teachers and administration staff via email, Compass etc will be different to face-to-face, class discussions.
- Online learning will take longer for students to complete.
- Please check-in on your child’s online learning – teachers will be communicating the day/week learning to students and parents/carers via Compass and SEESAW.
- Please be kind to yourself, your children and our teachers as we are all learning to navigate this online learning and the virtual classroom.
- Lesson content is to be used for educational purposes only, and our policies regarding behaviour and use of digital devices etc will apply to all video conferencing lessons. More information available online from e-Safety commission www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog/covid-19-keeping-schools-and-learning-safe-online.
Copyright: So that we are operating within guidelines, we must ask that you do not share videos we upload.
Privacy: Please also keep in mind that privacy relates to all our students and teachers. Please refrain from sharing any clips or images on any social media channels (including WhatsApp) which include images or comments of anyone other than you or your own child. This relates to intellectual property as well. Comments, videos and work samples should not be copied in any way. Consult our schools’ privacy policy at the link below. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Pages/schoolsprivacypolicy.aspx
7. Online Protocols For Students:
- Try to sit at a desk or table as you would in class.
- Minimise noise in the room you are using.
- Lesson content is to be used for educational purposes only, and Edithvale Primary School policies regarding
behaviour and use of digital devices etc will apply to all remote/learning from home lessons. - Please contact your teacher via SeeSaw if you have any questions or concerns about your lessons.
- Do your best to complete your assigned work.
- Be as close as you can to your WiFi for better connection.
ICT Policy: This can be found here.
8. Student Health and wellbeing
- Maintaining support for student health and wellbeing will be a key priority for us as we transition to flexible and remote learning. If you have any concerns about your child’s wellbeing – please contact James Whitla or Luke McMaster at school on (03 9772 1393) or edithvale.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
- Naomi Newton (Newton Psychology) has offered her psychology services for If any students or parents would like
to access psychology counselling during these uncertain times. She will be again be available to offer these services via phone or video conference. Again, all enquiries should be referred through the school (Luke and James)
As with other remote learning periods, our school will provide on-site supervision for students who are eligible (information has been sent previously).
To request on-site supervision, please use this link On Site Attendance Request Form and complete the form. This needs to be submitted by 3pm on Sunday 8 August so that we can send confirmation letters later that afternoon as required.
The challenge for schools is not necessarily the move in to RFL or even while we are in the RFL stage. The challenge is helping to support our wonderful students to move out of RFL and back to face-to-face learning as smoothly as possible. We have done this successfully before and I am very confident that, with the support of our amazing Edithvale community, we will do so again.
Take care and keep safe
James Whitla
